Tarpons ace pitcher signs with Baton Rouge school

Thursday

GALLIANO – The South Lafourche baseball team had what many consider the best season in school history.

The Tarpons capped off the 2018 season with a 27-9 overall record and won playoff games for the first time in school history.

South Lafourche was also eyeing a trip to the Class 4A state semifinals but was derailed by West Ouachita in a three-game quarterfinal series.

One of the catalysts for the Tarpons’ historic season was senior lefthander pitcher Blake Ougel.

As the ace of South Lafourche’s pitching staff, Ougel rolled to a 12-2 record and posted a 0.97 earned run average.

Those numbers caught the eye of several college programs, but in the end, Ougel decided that the best place to start his college career was at Baton Rouge Community College.

On Thursday, Ougel officially joined the Bears’ baseball program by signing a national letter-of-intent in front of family, teammates, coaches and friends at the South Lafourche cafeteria.

For Ougel, signing with Baton Rouge Community College was a dream come true.

"Ever since I was a little kid, I always wanted to play college baseball,"Ougel said. "Playing baseball has always been my passion. Coming off an injury last season, I worked hard to come back strong, and now that is has happened, it feels amazing."

Getting to this point was not without its ups and downs. Ougel had to overcome a broken wrist on his pitching arm that forced him to miss half of his junior season.

Ougel overcome that setback to become one of the top pitchers in the area and helped guide the Tarpons to the best season in school history.

"The entire South Lafourche community is excited to have Blake sign with Baton Rouge Community College," South Lafourche coach Andew Ravaglia said. "He has worked so hard this year and has done great things in his four years here. Baton Rouge Community College is getting a true gem in Blake Ougel."

Ravaglia said Ougel has a strong repertoire of pitches which proved to be a valuable resource during South Lafourche’s 2018 season.

"He is a guy that can command all four of pitches – fastball, curveball, slider and changeup," Ravaglia said. "His slider was his best breaking ball, so we didn’t try to show his curveball until the fourth or fifth innings. That allowed us to throw his fastball and slider and mix things up later in the game with the curveball and changeup. No matter when he threw those pitches, he always had a command of them, and that’s what made him so successful."

Ougel could be stepping into a situation where he can emerge as one of Baton Rouge Community College’s starting pitchers.

The Bears are looking to replace staff ace Keith Meier, who was one of the top strikeouts pitchers in the National Junior College Athletic Association.

To get to that point, Ougel said he is ready to do what it takes to succeed and eventually sign with a four-year school after his two-year stint in Baton Rouge is complete.

"I plan to work on improving my velocity in college," he said. "If I can do that, it should open some doors to a four-year school in the future."

In addition to pitching for South Lafourche, Ougel was one of the top players for the Southland Hogs summer baseball program.

Hogs coach Joe Tueton said he knew Ougel was a special player who would succeed in high school and later on in college.

"When I saw Blake as a sophomore, there was no doubt that he could pitch at the next level," Teuton said. "I know he was derailed in his junior year with the wrist injury, but he fought back and led South Lafourche to one of the best seasons in school history. Every time he took the mound for South Lafourche, they had a real legitimate shot to win that game."

Ravaglia said he enjoyed coaching Ougel and knows it will be tough to replace his production on the mound next season.

"As a player in the lineup, he was irreplaceable," the coach said. "You can’t replace a guy like that."

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